Tragedy strikes at Udupi beach: Two youths drown amid wedding festivities

Mangaluru: The MLC by-election for the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Local Authorities Constituency commenced at 8 AM on Monday, with voting set to continue until 4 PM. A total of 392 polling booths have been established across the two districts, which form the constituency.

The constituency has 6,032 eligible voters, including 3,127 women. Early reports indicated brisk voting at the Mangaluru City Corporation polling booth, where corporators were seen patiently standing in line in the morning.

In a unique moment, Sharath, a gram panchayat member from Kokkada, cast his vote at Kokkada Gram Panchayat before heading to his wedding ceremony.

The constituency features 53 sensitive polling booths. Eligible voters include members of gram panchayats, corporators from Mangaluru City Corporation, city and town municipal councils, town panchayats, MLAs, MLCs, and Lok Sabha members representing the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

Notably, Byndoor MLA Gururaj Gantihole and MLC Prathap Simha Nayak, who do not represent local bodies, were left out of the voters' list. According to electoral rules, only those MLAs, MLCs, and MPs who represent city corporations, municipalities, town panchayats, taluk panchayats, or zilla panchayats are granted voting rights in the MLC elections for the Local Authorities’ Constituency.

US and British warplanes have bombed Yemen's capital city of Sana'a and several other areas, amid the country’s solidarity with the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and the Lebanese nation in the face of Israel's brutal aggression.

Yemen's al-Masirah television network said the US-British aggression targeted the al-Hafa and Jirban areas in the north and south of the capital with six airstrikes on Thursday morning.

The television network also said the warplanes struck the northwestern Yemeni city of Sa'ada as well as the Kahlan and al-Abla areas east of the city.

The US military has used "B-2 stealth bombers for the 1st time in airstrikes on Yemen,” the television network said.

Yemen's official Saba Net news agency reported that US-British aggression aircraft launched 15 raids on the capital Sana'a and the Sa’ada province.

The agency cited a security source as saying that the aircraft targeted with six raids the areas in the north and south of the capital, and launched nine raids in Sa'ada.

A US defense official confirmed that the strikes were conducted using the B-2 bomber, which is usually deployed to strike areas heavily defended by air defense systems.

Source: Airstrikes did not hit weapons depots 

A Yemeni military source told the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV channel that the airstrikes did not hit weapons depots belonging to Yemen's Ansarullah, and did not affect their capabilities as claimed by the Pentagon.

The source said the use of B-2 stealth bombers in the attacks indicates "panic" in the US military over the possibility of its drones being shot down in Yemeni airspace, after several MQ-9 drones were shot down by the Houthi movement in recent months.

Any American-British aircraft or weapon used to strike Yemen "cannot neutralize the strategic weapons that the Yemeni army has prepared and continues to prepare and develop," the source said.

He added that attacks on Yemen will not succeed in forcing the Ansarullah movement to stop its support of Gaza and Lebanon.

Nasreddin Amer, Deputy Minister of Information in the Sana'a-based administration, condemned the American and British aggression, saying, “The position of the Yemeni nation toward Palestine and Lebanon will not change with these attacks.”

Amer stressed that the United States will “pay the price” of the dawn aggression against Yemen.

"We confirm that the American aggression will not pass without a response," said a statement from Ansarullah's political bureau.

Earlier on Tuesday, US and British forces conducted four airstrikes on the al-Luhayyah district in Hudaydah Province, in western Yemen. The day earlier, they carried out two airstrikes on the al-Salif district in western Hudaydah.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have said they will not stop their attacks until unrelenting Israeli ground and aerial offensives in Gaza end.

So far, Israel has killed at least 42,409 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 99,153 others in Gaza. The regime has also intensified its deadly attacks against Lebanon over the past year, killing upwards of 2,300 Lebanese people.

Mangaluru, Oct 27: Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta has been appointed to the consultative committee of the Ministry of Defence. 

This esteemed committee, led by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, comprises 14 members from the Lok Sabha, six from the Rajya Sabha, and two nominated members. 

Capt. Chowta is among the 14 members selected from the Lok Sabha to represent the voice of the people in this critical sector.

The committee is tasked with providing expert advice to the government on key defence policies, implementation strategies, and national security matters.

Meetings will be held regularly to ensure informed, timely guidance on these crucial issues, according to a press release from MP Chowta's office.

“With our country making strides towards self-reliance in defence under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it’s an honour to serve as a member of the Ministry of Defence Advisory Committee. As both a soldier and a parliamentarian, this role is a true privilege,” expressed Capt. Chowta.